Local High School Students Introduced to Engineering Technology

February 26, 2013

As part of its continuing efforts to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the engineering technology program and Tau Alpha Pi, the engineering technology honor society at Piedmont Technical College, recently celebrated National Engineers Week by inviting high school students to learn more about the career.

“It was encouraging to see so many high school students getting excited about engineering,” said Cory Nickles, president of Tau Alpha Pi. “The engineering technology field is the future of South Carolina.”

More than 50 students and teachers from the Project Lead the Way classes at Ninety Six High School, Ware Shoal High School, McCormick High School and Abbeville High School visited the Greenwood campus where they were given tours of the engineering technology labs and introduced to the programs offered. The students along with current Piedmont Tech engineering technology students were then treated to lunch where Kelvin McGraw, an engineering manager with Eaton Corporation and a PTC graduate, encouraged students to continue their education.

“I truly believe that Piedmont Technical College is a great avenue for students to enroll and follow their career path and better themselves,” McGraw told the students.

The students were then challenged with an engineering puzzle activity. They had to figure out as a team how to balance 12 large nails on the head of one nail in a board.

“It may look like a game, but this is the same way challenging problems are solved every day in industry,” said Nickles. “It’s about working together to solve problems.”

The celebration of National Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers in conjunction with President George Washington’s birthday. President Washington is considered as the nation’s first engineer, notably for his survey work. It is observed by more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies. The purpose of National Engineers Week is to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make. It is also a time for engineers to emphasize the importance of learning math, science, and technical skills.

Photo Caption: The engineering technology program and Tau Alpha Pi, the engineering technology honor society at Piedmont Technical College, recently celebrated National Engineers Week. PTC graduate Kelvin McGraw, an engineering manager with Eaton Corporation, center, encouraged more than 50 students and teachers from the Project Lead the Way classes at Ninety Six High School, Ware Shoals High School, McCormick High School and Abbeville High School.